Finance Function & CFO Advisory
Finance records the numbers but gives no insight
“Our finance team records numbers but gives us little insight.”What owners tell us
The situation
Signs you are facing this
- Monthly accounts arrive late, if at all
- Reports list figures with no comparison or explanation
- Owners rebuild numbers in their own spreadsheets
- Budget and actuals are never compared
The situation
Finance records the numbers but gives no insight
Driver 1
Team trained for compliance
Focus is VAT, TDS and year-end, not management questions.
Driver 2
No agreed KPIs
Nobody has defined which numbers matter for this business.
Driver 3
Slow close
Books are finalised too late for the numbers to be useful.
- 1
Diagnose
Agree the questions
Define the handful of KPIs leadership actually decides on.
- 2
Design
Design the pack
One monthly report: actual, budget, last year, and a short commentary.
- 3
Embed
Speed up the close
Checklists and timelines so reports land within days of month end.
- Management reporting pack
- KPI set tied to real decisions
- Reporting calendar and ownership
- Variance commentary template
Common questions
What is MIS reporting?
Management information system reporting: regular internal reports that show performance against targets so management can act, separate from statutory accounts.
What should a monthly management report include?
Profit and loss against budget, cash position and forecast, receivables and payables ageing, key operating KPIs, and a short explanation of what changed.
Related situations
- “There are too many reports and I still do not know which numbers matter.”Too many reports, and still unclear which numbers matter
- “Our business has grown faster than our systems.”The business has outgrown its systems
- “We need CFO-level thinking without hiring a full-time CFO.”CFO-level thinking without a full-time CFO